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Californians Not Liable For Saving Animals Trapped In Hot Cars

  •  Amy Quinton 
Friday, December 30, 2016 | Sacramento, CA
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Mujtaba Al-Mamun / Flickr
 

Mujtaba Al-Mamun / Flickr

Californians won’t have to worry about being sued or arrested for breaking into a hot unattended car to rescue an animal under a new law taking effect in 2017. 

It takes just 10 minutes on an 80 degree day for temperatures inside a car to reach 120 degrees. Most people say if they saw a distressed animal trapped inside a parked car on a hot day they would take action to save it. 

“They’re like our children," says Yvonne Phun of Sacramento, as she loads her dog Bear into the car outside a pet store. "I don’t think anyone should be punished for trying to save their dog."

But in Los Angeles, bystanders watched a dog die in a hot car while waiting for law enforcement to arrive. 

“Law enforcement asked, 'how come you guys didn’t break the window or try to get into the vehicle?' and the bystanders told them they were afraid of being arrested or being sued," says Dan Felizzatto with the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office. The office was one of the sponsors of the bill.

The new law protects people from any liability. Law enforcement must be called first, the animal must be in imminent danger, and people can’t use more force than necessary to rescue the animal. 


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    More about New California Laws 2017

  • New California Laws 2017

    Hundreds of new laws went into effect Jan. 1, 2017. Capital Public Radio highlights some of them in our annual New Law Series.

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Amy Quinton

Former Environment Reporter

Amy came to Sacramento from New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR) where she was Environment Reporter. Amy has also reported for NPR member stations WFAE in Charlotte, WAMU in Washington D.C. and American Public Media's "Marketplace."  Read Full Bio 

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